Africa’s Leaders for Life
The continent’s aspiring dictators are attacking term limits with a vengeance, finding new ways to avoid handing over power. But citizens are overwhelmingly against it — and can help keep their leaders in check.
2749 Results
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Election Results—August and September 2024
Reports on elections in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kiribati, Sint Maarten, and Sri Lanka.
October 2008, Volume 19, Issue 4
Georgia’s Year of Turmoil
A domestic political crisis began brewing in Georgia long before the current conflict with Russia. Since the Rose Revolution, the country has been troubled by flawed elections, a “superpresidency,” and a malleable constitution.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
Arab Democracy or Islamist Revolution?
Although Olivier Roy and others argue that current circumstances will push ascendant Islamist parties in a democratic direction, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood remains committed to the revolutionary goals that have animated it since its beginnings.
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Strife and Secession in Sudan
After decades of civil war, Sudan is set to divide into two nations on 9 July 2011. Yet a number of explosive issues—including the drawing of borders and sharing of oil revenue—have still not been resolved, and the prospects for peace appear to be dimming.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
Afghanistan’s Long Road to Reconstruction
To forestall a worst-case scenario, the U.S. and the world must make a deeper commitment to peacekeeping and decentralized government.
April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2
The Authoritarian Resurgence: Forward to the Past in Russia
Even if Vladimir Putin were to lose his grip on office, the “Russian system” might only wind up exchanging one form of personalized power for another in its endless search for self-perpetuation.
January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies
Evidence from the postcommunist countries shows that the strength of the legislature may be the institutional key to democratic consolidation.
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
Do New Democracies Support Democracy? Reluctant India
Though justly vaunted as the world’s largest democracy, India will in all likelihood remain reluctant to take on the mantle of “democracy promoter” for a mix of historical, ideological, and strategic reasons.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade
Over the ten years since its first nonracial elections in 1994, South Africa has seen its democratic order become more firmly institutionalized, even as the electoral dominance of the ANC has continued to grow.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Why Greece Failed
Greece was an early success story of the “third wave,” but since the 2008 financial crisis, it has become a poster child for the pains of austerity and unrest. Its troubles at one level are fiscal and economic, but there is a political dimension that may be even more critical.
January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Turkey Divided
Events surrounding Turkey's 2007 elections reveal a country with a vibrantly democratic political sphere and a society badly split over the role of Islam in national life.
January 2024, Volume 35, Issue 1
The Real Dangers of Generative AI
Advanced AI faces twin perils: the collapse of democratic control over key state functions or the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the few. Avoiding these risks will require new ways of governing.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Peru: The Danger of Powerless Democracy
Complaining about parties and politicians is common everywhere, but troubled Peru has devolved into a cautionary tale for what a democracy without established parties and professional politicians can look like.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
Lula’s Second Act
Brazil’s charismatic former president is back, but there will be no honeymoon for the left. He won by a sliver, and his opponents on the right were empowered by the same election.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Combating Beijing’s Sharp Power: Taiwan’s Democracy Under Fire
No state on the planet is more heavily targeted by authoritarians’ information warfare than the Republic of China on Taiwan. And no other state and free society are better at resisting the daily onslaught.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
The Long Game: The Opposition Wins in Honduras
The country’s opposition beat an authoritarian incumbent by unifying, organizing its supporters, and contesting every election no matter the odds. Can the strategy be applied elsewhere?
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Is Mexico Falling into the Authoritarian Trap?
A weakened mandate from voters and perennial state dysfunction are putting Mexico’s populist president in a bind. Will he further damage democracy to fulfill his promises for change?
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Argentina: Peronism Returns
Out of power and with promises to jumpstart a lagging economy, the fractured Peronists reunified and reclaimed the presidency. Now they must deliver what voters want.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
The Failure of Europe’s Mainstream Parties
Beyond the commonly cited economic and cultural anxieties afflicting many Europeans, a key factor enabling the rise of populism across Europe has been the failure of mainstream parties on both the left and the right to offer clear and credible policy alternatives.